Is there Progress after Plateau?

Over the years I have taught many adults; a question that is often posed to me is: “Is it worth it for me to continue with this, or am I just wasting my time and yours?”

First of all, if you are working hard and practicing at home, you are never wasting your teacher’s time. My job and my passion are to share my knowledge and to help you improve. The only time you are wasting a teacher’s time is if you are making no effort at all.

I have never run into that with an adult student!

The question that I always pose back to my students is: “Are you still enjoying playing?” People who start into music as adults are rarely planning on playing at Carnegie Hall. Usually the goal is to be able to play music for yourself, family, or with friends. As long as you are still enjoying the process overall – it is worth sticking with it.

Is it going to be fun all of the time? No.

Are you always going to feel like you are consistently improving? No!

We all go through stages of plateau where even though we are putting in the time and work; we just can’t seem to get past a certain point. The trick is just to keep going because eventually it will pass, and you will start improving again. It just takes time and perseverance.

One thing to keep in mind is that slow progress is still progress! Even if you feel like you are not learning as fast as you would like, you are still learning a whole lot faster than any one who is not trying at all!